Man arrested in Bar Harbor church burglary

BAR HARBOR, Maine — A local man who was convicted this year of stealing firearms from a local inn is back behind bars on a probation violation as a result of a police investigation into a burglary at a local church.

William “Bo” Thurston, 19, was arrested Monday, according to the Bar Harbor Police Department. He is suspected of being involved in the theft of a debit card from a locked office at the Church of Our Father in Hulls Cove, police Sgt. David Kerns said Tuesday. Pending a review of the case by the Hancock County District Attorney’s office, Thurston is facing possible charges of felony theft and possession of stolen property, Kerns said.

Thurston and another person who Kerns declined to identify are suspected of using the card to withdraw cash from area banks and to purchase cell phones, according to the police sergeant. The total value of the cash and items obtained with the debit card is expected to be more than $3,000, Kerns said.

Thurston had one of the cell phones in question with him when police detained him on Monday, Kerns said.

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“He’s the one we scooped up first,” the officer said.

The investigation could result in burglary charges being filed, Kerns said. The suspected theft was first reported to police on Friday, Oct. 11.

Kerns declined to release other details about the ongoing investigation.

Aside from the firearms theft last December, Thurston has been connected with activity at a home on Greeley Avenue that this summer prompted neighbors to raise their concerns with the local elected Town Council. Thurston and others had been hanging out at the house, which is owned by his father, while his father was living elsewhere on Mount Desert Island, neighbors have said.

Town officials and neighbors have said that there have been complaints of vandalism, disruptive behavior, suspected drug activity and alleged animal abuse at the house. In August, the town posted placards on the house barring anyone from entering because of “unsafe/unstable/unsuitable” conditions inside the home which is grown over with vines, has trash strewn about the yard and front porch, and has not had running water for some time, town officials have said.